A fresh analysis of a meteorite discovered in Algeria in 2012 has suggested that a volcano on Mars may have erupted nonstop for 2 billion years.

A tem of scientists led by Marc Caffee, a member of the meteorite research team and professor of physics & astronomy at Purdue University, found clues of the nonstop volcanic activity in a Martian meteorite discovered in Algeria in 2012.

Speaking on the topic, Caffee said, “Even though we've never had astronauts walk on Mars, we still have pieces of the Martian surface to study, thanks to these meteorites … What this means is that for 2 billion years there’s been sort of a steady plume of magma in one location on the surface of Mars.”

Weighing just 0.44 pounds, the Martian meteorite dubbed Northwest Africa (NWA) 7635 was found among nearly a dozen samples that appear to have been ejected from Mars as many as 1.1 million years ago. But unlike other samples, which formed 500 million years ago, the meteorite from Northwest Africa is roughly 2.4 billion years old.

The planet Mars, which is also known as the Red Planet, has been host to a number of volcanoes. The largest volcano of our solar system, the Olympus Mons, is also on the Red Planet.

The scientists detailed their new Martian meteorite study in the most recent edition of the journal Science Advances.